How does the remarkable legacy of British missionaries and soldiers in Korea connect with the gospel work of Christian Concern in the UK and overseas? Andrea Williams explores the connections emphasised at the recent Make the UK Holy Again conference
When I stood at the Make the UK Holy Again conference (4-7 August 2025), my heart burned with gratitude. What we experienced together was not merely an event; it was the living fruit of sacrifice, obedience, and courage that stretches back through generations.
In recent years, I have had the privilege of visiting South Korea, one of the most vibrant centres of global Christianity. Churches rise from its cities, prayer mountains resound day and night, and missionaries are sent out in their thousands. Yet this story of zeal and revival began with blood, sweat, and tears – most of them shed by young men and women from Britain who laid down their lives almost two centuries ago to bring the gospel to Korea.
The first missionaries
We were reminded at the event of Robert Jermain Thomas, a young Welshman caught up in the Holy Spirit fire of the 1859 Welsh Revival. In 1866, he landed on the shores of Ganghwa Island in Korea with 300 Bibles in his possession. His only mission was to share the gospel. He was martyred almost immediately – some say by sword, others by fire or drowning – but not before scattering the Word of God into that land. One of his Bibles, used as wallpaper by a Korean official, became a site of pilgrimage as neighbours crowded in to read the words of life. Out of his sacrifice came the seed of a church that would one day number in the millions.
Then there was Samuel Moffett, inspired by Thomas’s story, who left America in 1890 to plant over 1,000 churches and 300 schools, shaping the very DNA of the Korean church. Missionaries like Mary Scranton and Rosetta Sherwood Hall brought education and medicine, while men such as Paget Wilks prayed fervently that Korea would be spared the corruption of higher biblical criticism. Their prayers were answered. Today, Korea stands as a living testimony to their obedience.
Blood and sacrifice in war
But the story does not end with the missionaries. Rev. James Kim reminded us of the extraordinary sacrifice of British soldiers during the Korean War, particularly the men of the Gloucester Regiment at the Battle of Imjin River in April 1951. Facing 10,000 Chinese and North Korean troops, 650 Glorious Glosters stood their ground. All but 67 were killed or captured. Their courage saved countless Korean refugees and bought time for UN forces to defend Seoul and spare South Korea from atheistic communism.
Among them was Major Patrick Angier, a Christian man who had led his regiment. His body lay unidentified until 2024. His sacrifice, and that of his brothers in arms, ensured that Korea could one day rise again free, democratic, and ablaze with the gospel.
It was in this context that Pastor Kim presented and honoured me with stones taken from Gloster Hill, the very ground where those men fell. As I held them, I was moved to tears. These stones are one of the most precious gifts I have ever received, more precious than gold.
Rev. Kim was connecting me and the message I bring directly to the great line of missionaries and soldiers who gave everything so that others might live in freedom and hear the gospel.
We might not quickly recognise the connection between these missionaries, soldiers and our ministry today. But for Rev. Kim these are parts of one bigger story. The missionaries took up the challenge of bringing the life-giving gospel to Korea. The soldiers defended the freedom of the gospel with their lives. And now we call on Korea not to squander those freedoms by capitulating to secular ideologies that are opposed to Jesus Christ and his ways.
The Esther Movement in Korea has heeded the warning of nations that are blessed by God and then forget him. Every lesson I bring of what has happened in the UK is taken seriously. Korean Christians are determined to Keep Korea Holy – they are saying no to laws that fail to protect life, family and the freedom to live out the full implications of the gospel. They are contending for gospel culture. They know the battle starts in the hearts and minds of their churches, who must hold firm to holiness and its public proclamation.
Korea’s gift back to us
What moves me most is that Korea has not forgotten us. At great personal expense, hundreds of Korean Christians travelled to London, not to ask for anything, but to give thanks. To honour the gospel they first received from us. To pray with us that the United Kingdom might once again be a nation under God.
Their prayers were not timid. They lifted their voices like a royal priesthood, crying out “Lord! Lord! Lord!” with arms outstretched until they shook with exhaustion. Their passion and love for Jesus stirred my heart, mind and soul. I love them. They love Christ. They love Korea, praying day and night for reunification under the gospel.
And they love Britain. They long for revival in our land.
In all honesty, they may love Britain more than we do. It is rare to find such commitment and fervour for God and nation here in the UK. Too few of us would cross our own streets to pray for revival, let alone cross the world to live, and perhaps die for the gospel overseas.
A call to Britain
The Make the UK Holy Again conference was not an isolated event. It is the continuation of a great story. From the martyrdom of Thomas, to the preaching of Moffett, to the courage of the Gloucesters, to the tears of Korean saints in London, God has been weaving a tapestry of sacrifice and grace.
What struck me was how God is outside of time. Robert Jermain Thomas died at the age of 27, unknown. To the world, his life would have seem cut short and without grand achievement. And yet, because of him (and the others) Korea stands strong in the gospel and nearly 200 years later, 400 Koreans gathered in London to pray for his nation that had forgotten her blessing.
Britain, this is our moment. The gospel that once went out from our shores must become our lifeblood again. If Korea, divided between communism and Christ, can teach us this lesson then surely the United Kingdom, whose very foundations were laid in gospel truth, can be made holy again.
The fruit of sacrifice is here before us. The prayers of the saints surround us. The stones of Gloster Hill remind us of the cost. Now is the time to rise. Now is the time to make the UK holy again.
